


Back to the Start

by Lapsaes



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherly Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Redemption, Time Travel, Uncle Ardyn Izunia, kid noctis - Freeform, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-05-26 01:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14990285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapsaes/pseuds/Lapsaes
Summary: It was over.Eos was finally purged of the Scourge, but along with it went the Lucis line. However, the Astrals quickly realize they didn't want a world without the Lucis protecting it, so what was their first plan of action to prevent Noct's demise?Send Ardyn back in time.Because that couldn't possibly go wrong.





	1. In the Beyond

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo-uh, I haven't written a fanfic in 3 yrs :\
> 
> I was pretty much spun into action to write a Ardyn fic bc there's so little out there??? Like where is my son u guys??  
> And sorry that the beginning is a bit rough around the edges, and the grammar mistakes that are probably all around, but I'm just too tired rn to fix it.  
> But I'll stop blabbing, enjoy my weird intro chapter-

_Ah. The sweet kiss of death._

Two thousand years spent hiding away in the shadows, lurking just close enough to leave legends and stories to form in my wake. Thirty years spent pulling the strings of an entire nations through pain and desperation till it's final days. Ten years spent sitting in the chair of my little brother, awaiting for his descendant to come claim this dreadful excuse for a life, and purge the world of the daemons and my sin.

How wonderful it feels knowing that I'll soon rest for eternity, with nothing and no one to bother me. An endless sleep that not even the _Astrals_ can awaken me from even if they tried. I bet they're grinning from ear to ear from the accomplishments of their Chosen King, patting themselves on the back for cursing a another with a destiny so similar to what they had given me. But...at least I can die knowing that it's all said and done.

Even with the plague gone from me, I still feel the same anger towards the Astrals, but I guess that was probably to be expected, after all, they did start this whole mess of a prophecy. But thankfully, most of everything else I thought of were warm, and more open. Unlike the harsh rhetoric that used the plague my mind and actions for so long before.

I waited, or rather, have been waiting for quite a while for something to happen. I've just been floating through the emptiness, waiting for a light to go towards so it could lead by to my final resting place in the abyss.

_Was I even physically present?_

I couldn't move, feel nor hear anything, but it felt similar to being in some kind of lucid dream, except the only that I was aware of was my own conscious. I did leave the Astral Plane did I not?

Perhaps I should think of something, how about...Lestallum?

I concentrated for a few moments, trying to _will_ the city into existence around me, but no shapes or colors formed in the darkness, just me left alone with my thoughts.

Well then. That worked out wonderfully. 

Well, It wasn't the most _amazing_ waiting room for the abyss, but I'm in no place to complain about it. Though I guess it is a bit nice, a little bit of time to myself to ponder before I'm layed to rest.

_How thoughtful of them._

As I looked back, my thoughts seemed so odd compared to how they used to come to me, sure there was still some of what was left before, but there was _more_. Actual emotion seeped into every past memory and thought that came to mind, many I haven't felt in such a long time. Like as if I were rediscovering an old meal that I had somehow forgot was the most delicious thing on the planet!

Some memories became more clear, others that seemed to have been lost to the daemons came back entirely. Most of the things I thought about or remembered before were merely preserved to keep me upset, and enraged with the world.

Some were remember just right to make them seem downright awful. But even though there were many happier memories materializing in my mind, my emotions towards them became more and more saddened with each passing moment as memories came to my recollection.

_Astrals was I that lost?_

My memories before were somewhat of a way to keep record of how 'normal' I was, a standard for my way of acting, and how I should act. But with all these more _human_ memories coming back, I've realized how much of a monster I had become.

I was rather docile for the most of those long, uneventful years leading up to it all. I Kept to myself, exploring every nook and cranny of Eos I could reach. Never belonging to one place, just wandering and discovering the world as my own.

I was nothing more than a man biding his time, waiting for the sun to set indefinitely on his personal empire.

  
Of course there were many times where I did some truly awful things over those years, many I'd _rather_ not think of now that I actually have the chance. But at least I now know that there were times where I slipped up and did some things out of the goodness of what was left of my heart, but that was rare enough as it was. And that rarity became more of a legend once I started working with the Niflheim Empire.

At that point I truly tipped into the hands of the daemons that clawed at the ever-so thinning walls inside me. When I showed up at the doorstep of the Empire with the few MT's and technology I had, they were instantly _swooned_  by my work and how advanced it was compared to theirs. They easily agreed to let me into their ranks if I helped them in return by making more of my creations to aid them in the war against Lucis.

So there I was, tricking an empire into creating MT's with what little resources they had. Then summoned and murdered the Glacian in 'defense', to kill hundreds of thousands with the cold tundra her corpse brought upon it's once warm, tropical lands.

All of that was just to get them to start using my daemons, and to _consider_  taking the crystal from the Crown City, knowing that it was the only way to save their people. And that was still _decades_  before they did so, decades of of nation trying to fight back it's one inner daemon so it wouldn't commit such an atrocity.

In the end I turned an entire, suffering nation into daemons with no hesitation just because I saw no need for it's, _immediate_ resources once Noctis was taken by the crystal.

Noctis.

Poor Noctis. What a bright child, ruined by the responsibility the Astrals placed upon his shoulders. With all the kings I've witness through the years, he truely could have led his nation better than them all. Hell, he could have been able to lead the _world_ if he hadn't suffered such a fate.

I wonder what he's doing now, perhaps he's finally reuniting with his family and friends in the afterlife, celebrating the end of the Starscourge. Maybe he was thrown into the abyss along with me, only able to spend his last moments reflecting upon himself. Who knows.

If he does end up in the afterlife, I doubt it can help fill in the void of those many years he was forced to cut short, he just barely even got to live out twenty. But at least he didn't have to suffer for as long as I had to.

And oh did the boy remind him of Somnus.

Even with a hundred and thirteen kings and queens between them, Noctis was still managed to be a spitting image of him from head to toe.

I myself would I have thought over time that Somnus's oddly blue tinted hair would fade out over the first few generations with no one else in Eos with the same genes. But as time passed, it got obvious his hair latched onto every single one of the royalty born of the Caelum line like a leach.

A trademark if you will.

And of course the hair wasn't enough for them to plaster on each and one of them.

They all had his striking blue eyes that pierced the sky even in mid-day like the sun. And of course they all spent a good while of they're life _sleeping_ instead of running an entire kingdom, but they managed.

And another thing is that in some way or another, they would always manage to injure themselves and end up with a noticeable limp in one of their legs like Somnus.

As if the Astrals wanted to make sure I remembered whose children and lineage I was destined to end.

While most of those injuries were earned through the hardship of battle, and bravery of protecting their kingdom and people, ironically Somnus had ended up with a bad leg after his chocobo threw him off a small, rocky hill in Vesperpool when they were both fairly young.

He could barely move his leg, and somehow it managed to get absolutely _mangled_ by the short fall.

At the time of the incident, we were on a mission to clear out some weaker daemons in the area, as requested by some older local fishers.

We had left my Shield, Gilgamesh at an nearby outpost for the day to restock our supplies, since we were cleared out of pretty much everything while on a recent big daemon hunt at the Rock of Ravatogh with local hunters.

We decided to set off quickly before night fell, and reassured Gilgamesh that we could handle the daemons on our own up there.

However, with Somnus's little slip up, we had to give up on our oh so simple quest.

Stranded in Vesperpool as the sun set, I had offered to heal Somnus's leg for him after I had to drag him _and_  his stubborn chocobo to the Capitis Haven just south of the lake.

He had flatly refused my service, knowing that I would just be taking his injuries for myself to bare, and he also claimed that he needed to get " _toughen up_ " from it.

Though as the night wore on and he had fallen asleep, I _may_ have healed him just a bit, or at least enough for him to be able to get on his chocobo the next day so we could get him the help he needed at the outpost.

Where he of course couldn't help but twist his story just a smidge, and brag about how heroic he was when he fought off multiple daemons to the fair young lady that was treating him, and how he didn't even need the help of THE healer, and his brother, Ardyn himself.

Though it didn't take Gilgamesh too long to show up with an _absurdly_ huge mountain of goods in tow mounted ontop of his chocobo after hearing that the Caelum's had returned from Vesperpool.

The Shield didn't even need to get a good look at Somnus before blatenty asking how he managed to get his leg demolished by Imps that could barely push a kid over, embarrassing the living hell out of Somnus as the girl wrapping his leg at the time let out a _very_ unlady-like snort in response to Gilgamesh.

But of course the whole fiasco had also left me with my afflictions. I was left with tge slightest of limps, mainly due to me not getting it treated properly at time as not to hurt Somnus's poor ego infront of the girl anymore than it already was.

Now _those_ were the memories I oh so dearly missed.

Like I said, ehen I harbored the Scourge, I had pushed back any good memories of me and Somnus to the depths of my mind. Any that were left were either fights, betrayals, or were twisted into looking as such so it would be painted that he was the monster.

I truly loved my brother, and Astrals do I miss him.

I would give anything to speak with him once more before I'm erased from existence. But what would I say? What _could_ I say? After everything I've done to Eos, to _him_.

Say that I'm sorry for all the cruel inhuman things I've done? And for destroying the world and having your bloodline murdered?

That would surely go over smoothly.

I wouldn't blame him if he didn't want to talk or even look at me if the Astrals allowed such a thing.

I deserve to go into the abyss, not to be spoken of ever again, my true name and identity to be lost along with the Kings of Yore that were once trapped inside the ring of the Lucii until it's destruction in the Astral Plane.

Even in the living world, most knowledgeable of the Lucis Kingdom was lost after Insomnia and Nifflheim fell.

Outside the wall, no one cared for what happened in the Crown City. Most couldn't even tell you what the king or prince had looked like at the time, some didn't even know them by name.

And with almost all of Insomnia's previous citizens dead, especially after the decade of endless night, even the story of King Noctis might get lost to the winds of time along with his ancestors.

 _Oh,_  I must applaud how well the Astrals have done in erasing this poor dysfunctional family from beginning to end.


	2. Searching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While on a few hunts in the Slough, Gilgamesh and Somnus awake to find that Ardyn has disappeared while they slept, so they set out to go search for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*Insert Black Panther meme about not being dead-*_
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> So uhhhh, hey? I'm back to actually update this, and I'm sorry that I'm the worst writer ever bc idk how to do emotions and I changed the POV :/
> 
> But yeah...it's 4k words so hopefully that somewhat makes up like 4 months of absence lmaoo

"Young prince, your brother has seemed to have wandered off." 

Gilgamesh kneeled over Somnus, already fully dressed in his trademark armor, his white hair tied into two parts down each side of his face, baring a strong contrast to his dark skin that carried a short thin scar right under his left eye. 

Somnus showed very little intrest or perhaps even consciousness in getting out of his makeshift bed, which consisted of a single thin burgundy blanket ontop of the rocky ground of the haven. 

He let out a, ' _eh, maybe later_ ' sort of grunt in response to Gilgamesh's attempt at rousing him from his restful state, and proceeded to turn over from where he was positioned on the ground so his back would face Gil. 

He had fought hard yesterday on multiple local hunts since Alstor Slough is just _crawling_ to the brim with creatures ready to terrorize anything it sees. They even took out an older Catoblepas that had seemed to have been infected by the disease, and was sacting a _bit_ more than just docile towards even the other Catoblepas' that made the mistake of getting too close. 

Even that night they took down two Red Giants, thanks mainly to Ardyn cleansing most of their daemonic energy from them before Gil and Somnus took them down by hand. Though after the glorious victory Gil could _barely_ keep both of them on their feet on the way to the haven. 

Ardyn stayed up a bit to wait for Gil to make dinner before getting some well deserved rest, while Somnus _instantly_ crashed the moment they got there, barely bothering to make the luxurious pile of cheap blankets and pillows he usually makes as for him to get his best sleep. 

The sun had just broken through the horizon minutes before, beems of lights coming through the tall trees and low haze that covered the area. 

Somnus would _undoubtedly_ sleep in well past noon if no one interjected with his beauty sleep. 

Gil gave a small sigh. 

He slowly stood up, taking a step back and paused just for a moment before drawing a foot back before delivering a swift shove to Somnus' shoulder with the heel of his boot that sent him roll over a few times before a hit the backside wall of the Haven with a light thud. 

An unexpected attack will probably get the prince up in a hurry. 

And on que, Somnus quickly stumbled to his feet, with one hand on the wall to steady him, he drew his sword from his amriger to his free hand hand, having it almost drag him back down with it's weight and how drained he still was from yesterday. And the fact he was still half asleep wasn't a great factor either. 

The tip just barely scraped the ground before he heaves it back up and holds in both hands before hastily looking around for his attacker. 

He was obviously disheveled, he had dark rings under his eyes, well, darker rings than what they usual are. He didn't bother changing into something clean last night, so his shirt and pants were wrinkled, and stained with a variety of who _knows_ what. 

His hair was in bad need of a wash, it had remnants of dust and dirt in it, with parts sticking out into many unnatural angles, even a small dead leaf was just barely hanging onto the side of his head. 

"You _do_ realize that nothing can get into havens?" Gil deadpanned at him as he was already holding Somnus' blanket up from the ground, beginning to fold it up so it can be stored for when they would eventually go out. 

The prince loosened up a bit, his sword faltering to the side for a moment, before letting it flicker back into his armiger with an annoyed grunt. 

"Don't mean you can give people heart attacks-" He mumbled, the adrenaline of the moment draining away and easily being replaced with the sluggishness that accompanied his lack of sleep. 

He trudged over to Gil, snatching the ragged half folded blanket from his hands, and wrapped it around his shoulders, continuing past him and lazily planting himself in front of the smoldering fireplace in the crisscross position, giving a small stretch, and a quiet yawn as Gil watched unphased by the young man's rudeness. 

Somnus grabbed some small branches and leaves that were in hands reach that they had brought up with them to give some fuel for the fire. 

He then he rubbed his hands together, creating a small lick if flame with the help of the friction, gently holding it to the unburnt parts watching the flame jump to life under his half lidded eyes as he propped up his head in his hand. 

He wasn't _nearly_ as skilled as Ardyn when it came to magic, he usually needed some kind of source to begin to harness it, while Ardyn could easily bring the elements to his fingertips without breaking a sweat. 

His older brother was kind enough to make small containers of the elements for him to use in battle if necessary, but he was more comfortable with doing physical combat, and left the magic to Ardyn. 

_Oh yeah, Ardyn..._

"So...where'd ya say he went?" Somnus said, back still turned to Gil as he watched the flames dance and consume more greenery in the small pit. 

Somnus could hear him shifting his stance to face him before coming over to sit down next to Somnus by the fire. "Indeed. He wasn't here when I woke, I thought he could have perhaps have gone fishing by that small pond near here with Izunia with him." 

Somnus gave a small sigh and nodded, "Sounds like him." 

He reached out and grabbed one of the longer unburnt branches hanging out of the fire, using it to stir up the flames and make small embers spark up with the crackling of the wood. 

" _However_ , when I went down to the pond, there was no trace of him there, or around anywhere he might be."

Somnus paused. 

_That on the other hand, doesn't sound like him at all_

"You couldn't _find_ him?" 

Gil shook his head as he gazed out at the wilderness around them, as if he were trying to see if Ardyn was hidden among the shrubbery. 

He then stood up from the ground, wiping away the dirt from the ground off himself before lightly placing a gloved hand ontop of somnus' head, flatting out some unruly tufts of hair in the process. 

Gil was the most stone faced person Somnus had ever met, you'd only see genuine emotion every other _century_ from the guy. Yet now, he could see the worry in the glint his eyes that Gil was desperately trying to keep from the prince so he wouldn't worry. 

"I'd suggest we depart to look for him as soon as you're capable of leaving, young prince."

  


* * *

  


The thing about Gilgamesh and Ardyn was that as appointed by the Astrals themselves, they had this sort of... _bond_ , that was unbreakable. 

They knew everything about each other, and they also knew that they could rest assured that theirs lives are safe in their hands, and that they'd always be there for one another. 

Of what little Ardyn told him of the specifications of their weird _god-forged_ friendship, he at least knew that whenever one was in distress or pain, the other one would know about it and try to find and comfort them. 

And Gil knows that Ardyn is tough as hell, but the fact that he actually went out to _look_ for him this morning means something must of happened. 

And even Ardyn isn't as _nearly_ a morning person as Gil is. But he could still wake up before them if he was resilient enough against the drowsiness that would try to tug him back to sleep.

After they quickly finished packing their camping items and tied them down to their respected Chocobos, Somnus _finally_ got changed into something clean and free of the stench of sweat after Gil insisted multiple times that he must be ' _presentable_ ,' even though they were still on schedule to be staying in the area for a few more days with their hunts before seeing any civilization, let alone people. 

"So, do you have any good ideas on where he might be?" Somnus asked, tightening the old black saddle down firmly to his chocobo, who's white feather glistened as small beams of light fell through the trees leaves and moved as the gentle breeze blew the spots into motions. 

Gilgamesh was already sat atop his mount, still surveying the area as his vibrantly blonde chocobo seemed to be slowly pacing around for him. It carried a slightly larger load since Ardyn's chocobo had disappeared along with him, leaving all the supplies they usually carried to Gil. 

But thankfully his ride was used to the heavy weight, especially with its rider _constantly_ wearing a load of full armor everywhere they went. 

Hell, the guy was built like a brick shithouse and dwarfed Somnus' slim and small build, and even beat out _Ardyn's_ own broad stature, coming short half and entire foot when it came to height. 

"I have not the slightest of clues your highness, but I believe we should examine the areas around the lakes first." 

_You have got to be kidding me._

He couldn't be serious! They did NOT have the time to wander around the Slough aimlessly! 

They had been losing a lot of their supplies with this lot, and were surely going to be just scraping by on food, water, and pretty much anything needed to live by the time they finished up on the opposite side of the Slough, which means a whole day to trek back to town.

"Look, we need at least some kind a base plan before doing anything. Don't you guys have some weird telepathy thing going on? You've always been able to find him in the past, and he couldn't have gone far with how much work he did yesterday!"

Gil stopped his ride, but didn't turn to the prince. An awkward silence hung in the air, leaving only the sounds of distant wild life and the breeze whispering through the trees for moment, before he turned the side his head in Somnus' direction so he could be heard clearly enough by the prince. 

"I assure you, as his Shield I am capable of being able to provide my assistance to the future king whenever it is needed of me, and I will do such at whatever costs. For now it has seem that something is merely...' _interrupting_ ' our signal per say. However we've also experienced something similar to this down in Fallgrove before, so there's no reason to believe it's his doing." 

But Somnus could tell that he sure as hell wasn't comfortable with any of it. And at least when they were in Fallgrove they stayed as a group the entire time as they cleared it out. 

Though he _did_ recall a point when they were fighting that he couldn't call another weapon out, let alone get the weapon that was out to dematerialize from his hand.

It only happened once or twice during a quick skirmish with some small Sabertusks that were near the trail, and didn't really hinder him too much since it only lasted for just a split second, so he didn't bother telling Ardyn or Gil about it. 

To be honest he thought he just wasn't concentrating hard enough with what little energy a two hour sleep can provide to a man who needs at minimum like...14 hours to not feel like death. Yeah. 

But over all, the wildlife there were easy to handle, so no need to really worry about getting grievous wounds from the equivalent of a cat bite if he _did_ manage to have his guard fall since Gil and Ardyn was always fast to cover for him. 

"Look, I _know_ we need to find him asap, but we're no good starved to death. And who knows if anything out here is safe for us to eat or drink from, so why not...split up? I probably wouldn't make it back until dusk, but I can go back into town, cash in some of our hunts and restock while you're out here looking for Ardyn and meet back here? Hell maybe I'll find him on the way!" 

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow to his suggestion, pondering on it for a moment. "It would be helpful yes, but I do not believe I should be letting you go alone in the possibilities that you get lost or hurt, which I can not afford." 

Somnus groaned, slumping back in his saddle letting his rides reins slip out of his hands and let his legs and arms go hang over the side of his Chocobo, whose head was turned curiously to look back at her limp rider. 

"Come _ooon_ Gil! I know I'm not as strong as you or my brother, but I can handle a run to town without getting into trouble! Plus this _lovely_ girl here has won a bunch of races, so we're gonna outrun all the baddies, ain't that right girl?" 

He used one of his lax arms to give a light pat to the lower side of his chocobo as in to not accidentally send both him and her off into the hills, thankfully earning a small happy squawk from her instead. 

"...Well, if that's what you truly wish to do, I will not keep you waiting. But do be cautious out there. For our sake, and your own."

  


* * *

  


Aftering leaving most the supplies he had tied on his chocobo at the haven unguarded, _much against Gil's regard_ , Somnus set out towards the town up north. 

Thankfully it seemed that most of the large span of forest was still a bit drowsy, even as the light fog began to quickly disperse in the presence of the low sun's light. He kept to a slower and quieter pace while going through the forest, as in to not to wake an beasts that might be slumbering nearby, hidden from sight. 

Even though it was only about an half our ride through the forest until you get to the wetlands, it was still unnerving, especially after how they got bombarded on by some _huge_ spiders from the trees after a small pan fell from one of Somnus' bags and landed right onto a rock making a resounding ' _BANG_!' That probably alerted everything and anything that was in the quiet forest. 

Somnus would have gotten a face full of those _nasty_ bugs if it weren't for Ardyn pretty much jumping from one chocobo to another to push him out of the way of them since the ' _kill it with fire_ ' method wasn't exactly the best plan of action in a wooded area.

Somnus still on the other hand, got _rightly_ covered in one of the things guts after Gil crushed it beneath his shield right in front of him. Sending him to go promptly heave into a nearby bush, with Ardyn doing his best to comfort him while he tried to get some of the entrails off of his poor younger brother with some spare rags he had on his Chocobo that they used to patch up clothing. 

_Oh by the six do I hate bugs._

_Thankfully_ , he finally reached the edge of the forest, releasing a wave a relief over him as he gave his ride a small kick so they could finally pick up the pace and get away from that awful area. 

The abundance of sunlight outside the forest seemed to have given it more life than within the forest, with all sorts of wild animals already roaming about to graze on the grass or get water from the Catoblepas filled lake that was only a few hundred meters away from him. 

The wetlands were honestly quite peaceful, especially after they got rid of those more feisty creatures from the area. Maybe after this whole fiasco is said and done, they can come back out here and enjoy some leisure time.

It's one of the few places they've been where the locals actually _liked_ them.

Out in the west where they're from, most knew the Caelem boys as the witches that needed to be burned at the stake.

There have been so many rumors of them that have been twisted and malformed to make them seem like monsters ever since they were kids. 

When they first set out, they couldn't get near any towns without getting chased back out. And in other places they couldn't even mention their names, and had to hide behind fake aliases when trying to earn enough gil to eat through rigorous tasks. 

Though those _awful_ rumors only made it so far out here, long forgotten in the minds of the locals by the time they've shown up. Plus, Ardyn heals one kid from the plague and the whole _town_ is more than fine with letting a few magical oddballs stay for a bit. 

His brother just can't _bare_ to see anyone or anything suffer when he could easily fix it for them. And Somnus could tell that Ardyn always wanted to go back to some of those places where his blessings were denied so he could show everyone that he can really help them, but at this point it wasn't their choice to make when most of those people probably wanted their heads. 

When it came healing sicknesses, Ardyn never really _catches_ what he heals, and it more or less just drains him of his energy. While on the other hand with physical injuries, he can only do so much since if he were to heal a broken arm, _he'll_ get one in return. 

Not exactly the most _foolproof_ plan made by the Astrals, but they were probably a bit more focused on him getting rid of the darkness than a stubbed toe. 

But hey, they're not the ones to complain, they still had the Astrals on their side to keep them somewhat safe for the most part after all.

  


* * *

  


Somnus went on through the the fields for a few hours without any problems hindering their journey. 

And right before noon, he decided it was about time to feed his starving stomach some nutrition, and let his Chocobo rest and refuel as well.

He felt like he was going to _strangle_ his stomache if it growled one more time, especially when it was making his Chocobo think there's something dangerous nearby and get all tensed up and stopping a few times to look around to make sure it doesn't get pounce on by something. 

They settled down on a hill looking over one of the lakes since the ground was dry enough to sit and put his stuff down without things getting _too_ soaked through with all the moisture in the ground. 

A _perfect_ view for him to enjoy while he makes a delicious sandwich for himself, and of course to get some greenery out for his Chocobo. 

It would have only be about another hour until he got to town, but he didn't mind slapping on an extra half hour to indulge on pretty much all of what food he has left on him. Plus he's running quit nice on time, so he still should get back around the time Gil expects him to.

He hopped off his saddle and opened up one of the _many_ side pouches on his chocobo taking out some of his future food, placing it on the ground beside him.

He's still a bit worried with Ardyn, but deep down inside he also knows that his brother very much handle himself, even at a weakened state.

He could take Somnus down in his sleep and win it by a mile.

But hey, probably just got lost scouting the area with the dense fog earlier that morning. But why would he? There's no reason to do it so early, and he still doesn't get up that early.

What if he got kidnapped? But who would even by out here? Could he really just take off like that to them after everything they've gone through? _To him?_

It would explain why Gil can't reach him, because he'd be _intentionally_ keeping Gil from reaching him so he can just go disappear like-! 

_Hooooly shit, don't panic he's perfectly FINE, and he'd never do that to us-_

Somnus took a few, slow deep breaths, cupping the front of his face with his hands and slowly moving them up and through his hair. His heart wasn't beating too fast, but it was slamming against his rib cage for the split moment before then.

He doesn't want to think about _that_. He doesn't _NEED_ to.

He knows Ardyn has always been there for him and would never leave him, and he would literally give the _world_ to make sure he was safe from any sort of harm.  


_I_ t kind of reminded him of how he used to run to Ardyn's room whenever there were bad storms are when you could here creatures outside the house at night when they were young. And after a few times of that, Ardyn instead would come to his room to comfort him through the night. 

He's been by Somnus' side from thick to thin through all these years, and he wouldn't deny that he's still relys a bit too much on him for help still.

But the whole,  _'_ _we're saving the world'_ thing _might_ be an acception for now.  


His chocobo nuzzled his chest lightly with a small chirp, taking him out of his little flash-back he was having at the moment. 

Somnus gave her a light smile and lightly rubbed the top of her head. "Yeah yeah I know you're hungry, sorry about that girl." 

He reached into her food pouch, digging around for a moment until grabbing the last of her favorite treats, and then holding it out to her in an open palm as an offering that which she gladly accepted by almost taking a finger with it. 

_Probably_ should get the rest of their food out as well. 

Once he made his meal out of an very _questionable_ assortments of ingredients, he immediately chowed down on it, savoring every single bite. 

By the time he started eating, his Chocobo had already finished her lunch, and was heading down to the lake to get some water and to probably clean her feathers of the mud she had occasionally kicked up on her self when they picked up the pace in the muddy areas.

Somnus could easily see her from where he was sat, so there wasn't much to worry about her wandering off somewhere without him noticing.

It was nice for the most part. 

Nice warm weather, a few clouds that wandered about here and there, and a nice cool breeze would pass by every once in a while so you wouldn't get too hot before the wind pretty much hits the reset button.

He could have easily have fallen asleep if at this rate, but those odds were _very much_ diminished when his Chocobo started screeching while she was still down by the water.

She had shot up to her full height, outstretching her neck up in alert. Moving a few steps from side to side in a jittery motion, while keeping her attention on the same direct of small patch of forest that had a haven that they camped out a dag or two earlier that was on the other edge of the side of the lake. 

Something obviously caught her eye, but he's _never_ seen her act like that.

Somnus got up from the ground, quickly shoving what was left of his sandwhich in his mouth and swallowing it before he tries to get a good look at whatever was making her freak out. 

Before he could even get eyes on it, a loud exploding boom came from the said forest, shacking the ground beneath him and causing a stir in the wildlife around him with birds taking to the sky, and even a herd of Garula that was in the distance behind him had started to run off in the opposite direction. 

And whatever cause it, must of packed one _hell_ of a punch, because he's never seen or felt anything like that from such a distance. 

His chocobo let out one last ' _KWEH_!!' before taking off like a bullet in the direction of where the sound came from. 

Somnus didn't hesitate to warp down near the bottom of the hill, almost losing his footing when he lands on the loose mud patch before he regains his composure and begins waving both his hands above his head to try and grab her attention. 

"HEY HEY STOP-!!" He screamed, but to no avail. And if anything, she kept _gaining_ speed with each step, leaving him in the dust behind her even with him warping though those were still pretty short ranged at the most. 

_Shitshitshit-what the hell is she doing?!_

Somnus brought his attention back to the woods after warping a few times towards her, still trying to figure out what she was exactly running to until he saw the last wisps of white in the air deeper in between the gaps in the trees, and the faint frost that painted the ground, quickly retreeting deeper into the forest where he couldn't see. 

It looked exactly like the remains of an Elemency attack.  


  


_Well I'll be damned._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo Somnus is pretty much Prompto and Noctis rolled into one and Ardyn's Chocobo is named Izunia but I have no regrets-
> 
> Plus the foreshadowing this heckin thick like woooow
> 
> But uh yeah, there it is I guess  
> I'll do my best to try and keep updating this over time, and hopefully I can manage being productive lol

**Author's Note:**

> Wow congratulations, you just read my entire badly written chapter!  
> So this whole story is pretty much being written along the way with no one to proof read it and I have a sooorta loose idea of what I want out of it, but we'll see what mess this becomes-  
> And if you somehow like this, please show it! bc it will definitely give me the confidence boost to write more :')


End file.
